Improving soldiers and citizens’ connection

The nation is at war against insurgents, but then about one percent of Nigeria’s population is currently in active military duty.  This relatively few provide security against external and internal threats for 99 percent who are busy with their chosen endeavors. This piece is about civil-military relations (CMR) in which my views will be expressed as a military veteran. It is to enhance connection between our military organizations-army, navy and air force, and the civil society.

In a nutshell, CMR is the relationship between the civil authority of a given society and its military. For better understanding, CMR can be viewed from two angles.  Firstly, CMR is the civilian control of the military. That is, civilian leadership being able to exercise constitutional influence over the military. Secondly, CMR deals with the connection between military and the society. The crux of the matter is how to improve the connection among our soldiers, citizens and the civil authority.

But before delving into the most important aspect of this article, it may interest you to know that when civilians enlist into the military, it is assumed that they do so with the full knowledge that their first duty is towards the government entirely regardless of their views under any given circumstance. Simply, the soldier is to defend the constitution as he or she takes instructions from civil authority. Importantly, the soldier is at liberty to express his/her personal views only when called upon to do so besides confiding in friends. This is always with the complete understanding that these views are in no sense to govern his/her actions. The soldier is in “double jeopardy” as he/she stands the risk of being prosecuted using both military and civil laws for some special offences such as murder, manslaughter etc. So, you can understand the dilemma of asoldier in our clime particularly in a democracy.

Professionalism is very key in the affairs of any military institution in order to have discipline, order and selflessness. The civilian authority must have a way to direct the military without unduly infringing on the latter’s prerogatives. If not, there could be a backlash from the military as civilian authority makes effort to maintain effective control. It is the prerogative of the civilian leadership to decide the objectives of any military action. But the civilian leadership must allow the military to decide upon the best way of achieving these objectives. The challenge a civilian authority may have is in deciding on the ideal amount of control. Too less a control is not desirable as it may reflect failure of the government. Conversely, excessive control over the military could result in a force too weak to defend the nation, resulting in failure on the battlefield. It is the battlefield that will provide an assessment of soldiers for their ill-preparedness to defend the nation. This will be reflected in the number of casualties in any war.

Recently, I dialogued with a few participants at a leadership conference on their feelings about our soldiers. It was surprising to have a range of perspectives on civil-military relations with the millennials saying “we respect the military for a job well done”. Some even say, they would have loved to enlist in the military if given the opportunity to serve. But a large percentage of adults (above 40 years of age) expressed gaps in the relationship between citizens and soldiers. Irrespective of views expressed, I state with deep sense of duty that the status of civil-military relations in Nigeria is healthy except for a few misunderstanding here and there by both parties which to my mind could be resolved.

Of late, some citizens expressed their displeasure that the military wants to monitor Nigerians on social media with the ultimate objective of denying them freedom of speech. I am sure the military was referring to anti-security expressions from some quarters. It would have been worthwhile and commendable if the defense spokesperson was more circumspect in talking about monitoring the media and what people say.

If anti-security statements are not monitored as part of an all-embracing strategy to win the war on terror, how will the military get intelligence? They need to collect information through various sources including print, electronic and social media platforms, collate and analyze them before they can be regarded as “intelligence”. That is why soldiers and the citizens need to understand themselves always. The citizens must have confidence in the military institution as one trying its utmost best to protect them against all forms of threats.

I have always asked myself some questions: What is the implication of a divide between the military and our civilian populace, and what is the real-life costs of having civilian leaders who are out of touch with realities of military life and wartime requirements? Where does civil-military relations stand now after several years of the military contributing to protecting the citizens? The military is too small in size when compared to the entire population it serves. Thus, it will neither be in the interest of the military nor the citizens to be separated from themselves in order to have a peaceful society.

Let’s remember that soldiers- serving or retired, have a network of friends who are on the social media. I have a lot of friends-civilians and soldiers, who exchange brilliant ideas with me on leadership, development and change using WhatsApp and Facebook etc. There is a significant amount of interaction among Nigerians at home and in the diaspora using social media platforms irrespective of their professional calling. So, there should be no love lost between the military and the citizens.

Although, there is a “deficit of military veterans” in the government, political elites making choices- social, economic, political and legal, must be mindful of associated risks in military operations. Those in authority must at least be listening and willing to give consideration to closing any perceived gap in the relationship between soldiers and Nigerian citizens. We all have the responsibility to create cohesion while bridging the gap between our soldiers and citizens.

MA Johnson